Jennifer Armentrout: Cursed

“Shh, don’t.” He pulled me to him, cradling me against his chest so gently. “I don’t care about the file thing anymore. Do you think that’s even important to me now? After all you’ve been through?”

“But… what I did to Theo.”

“You did what you had to do. It doesn’t change anything about you. How beautiful you are inside.

How good you are. Or what I think of you.”

Heavy tears rolled down my cheeks. Hayden held on until the panic and fear slowly eased off. My grip on his sweater loosened and when I lifted my head, he swooped in and dropped a sweet kiss on my lips, silencing my worries and doubts. With that one simple touch, I knew I was going to be all right.

“Do you remember telling me what you loved most about winter?” he asked me.

“Yeah, I think so.”

His smile turned beautiful. “Let me help you stand.”

Hayden also helped me limp to the door. There, he grabbed a quilt and wrapped it around me. “Close your eyes.”

I raised my brows, but did as he asked. I heard the door open and cold air washed over me. Then, without any warning, I was swinging off my feet.

“Keep your eyes closed, Em.”

“Hayden, what are you doing?”

“Carrying you,” he said, laughter in his voice.

“Yeah, I gathered that.”

He held me close to his chest as he carried me out onto the balcony. I felt his lips brush my forehead.

“All right, open your eyes.”

I did, and in that moment, I was blown away by the beauty of the place I had once found terrifying.

Flakes of falling snow glistened in the moonlight like a thousand glittering stars. They came down fat and thick, placing a heavy blanket of white over the branches of elm trees, already softening the sharp peaks of Seneca Rocks.

“It’s… it’s beautiful.”

“I thought you’d like it.” His arms tightened. “I love it.” I tipped my head back. “Hayden.”

“Hmm?” He lowered his head, the edges of his hair brushing over my forehead.

It felt like silk on my skin—like his voice, his gaze. I felt close to tears again, but the happy kind, and even though I thought it would be hard to say these words, they came out easily. “I love you.”

Much like the look he got when he saw my sketches of him, wonder flickered across his face. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say that.”

My smile spread. “Two years, give or take a week?”

Hayden grinned, his dark eyes like pools of the night sky. “Yeah, that sounds about right. Do you know what I want to do now?”

“Kiss?”

And we did. Our lips touched. The world simply faded away, and it was just Hayden and me. We parted only after we had to, at the very last second.

“I love you, Ember.”

Resting my head against his chest, I smiled and sighed a little. Beyond the edge of the balcony, through the snow-touched trees, and over the rising slope of the mountains, a star broke away from the sky and fell to the earth.

THE END

I would like to thank Kate Kaynak and the wonderful team at Spencer Hill: Rich Storrs, Patricia Riley, Kendra McCormick, and Laura LaTulipe. Also a shout out to my agent Kevan Lyon and foreign rights agent Taryn Fagerness. A big thank you to those who helped shape Cursed into something readable.

Julie—you’ll always be my rockstar.

Cindy and Carissa, you guys are always there with feedback.

To all my friends and family, thank you for supporting me. And to all those who read my books and those who blog about them, I can’t express how much I appreciate every one of you.

Photo by Vania Stoyanova Jennifer L. Armentrout lives in West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. Well, mostly. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write. She shares her home with her husband, his K-9 partner named Diesel, and her hyper Jack Russell Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent her time writing short stories… therefore explaining her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes Adult and Young Adult Urban Fantasy and Romance.

Come find out more at: www.jenniferarmentrout.com

“5 stars—Mystery woven between paranormal and love—this book will rock your world!… JLA is my favorite. This book is a classic example of why… DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!”

— Stuck in Books

“There were so many twists that kept me on my toes, some predictable, some out-of-this-world. I had trouble putting this book down, it was so good! I would bookmark my page and then two seconds later, I would be coming back for more.”

— The Bucket List

“Jennifer L. Armentrout writes it like no one else. In my opinion, she is the queen of romantic paranormal YA fiction… For fans of Obsidian and Half-Blood, Cursed is a must read—you will not be disappointed!”

— The Revolving Bookcase

“Seductive and enigmatic— Cursed has plenty of thrills and kills to go around!”

— Wicked Awesome Books

“This book was fantastic… I’d definitely recommend it, particularly to fans of Shatter Me who want to try a book of the same flavor minus the dystopian influence. I’d also recommend it to the readers who are hungry for semi-paranormal stories that don’t involve vampires, fairies, or werewolves for once. Finally, all the current YA readers who are dying for another love story without the love triangle influence, like I typically am, should definitely pick up a copy of Cursed !”

— Memoirs of a Teenage Bibliophile

“ Cursed for me was a no-putter-downer. Ha, I made up a phrase. Anyway, what I mean is that even when I wanted to break, maybe pull out my gameboy and play some Pokémon, but the book it called to me. The book dragged me in with its first two pages and held me tight to the very end.”

— Lost Train Of Thoughts

“ Cursed is to die for… Literally.”

— Bookittyblog.com

“Jennifer Armentrout has dazzled her fans again in her upcoming young adult paranormal release, Cursed .

I am a huge Jennifer Armentrout fan and absolutely love everything she has written, and she has amazed me yet again with Cursed .”

— Always YA at Heart

“After reading Cursed , we are now positive about one thing: Jennifer L. Armentrout is the Queen of crafting novels with kick-butt heroines, drop-dead gorgeous guys and loads of sexual tension! Long live the Queen!”

— YA Sisterhood

“Between the fast-paced, suspenseful plot and complex characters, I could not put this book down.

Armentrout kept me guessing the entire time, and that doesn’t happen often. I love the fact that nothing about this book is predictable. Be prepared to lose some sleep with this one.”

— Fall Into Books

“If you love romance, you will love Ember’s and Hayden’s tale. If you love action, you will love to lace up your sneakers and run with Ember. If you love mystery, you will love to break out your CSI skills and try to figure out what is happening to Ember. And most of all, if you love just a damn good book that you can’t put down and refuse to part with (even to pee and eat) you will love Cursed .”

— Tater’s Tall Tails

“Watching Ember go from the girl who would not meet anyone’s eyes as she walked down the halls to a girl who realized she truly had a gift was really enjoyable. Cursed is different from Jennifer Armentrout’s other books, but it’s a great change of pace. I totally loved Dead Hamster Girl!”